State of Denial: Trump vs climate change

What does a Trump administration mean for science and environmental policy as science vs politics debates intensify?

Within the first few days of Donald Trump's presidency, environmental activists and scientists watched with alarm as the Obama administration's data on climate change simply vanished from government websites.

Suddenly, as a scientist on the front lines, you find yourself in a completely different world - for which you were not trained, where you are vilified personally.

Michael Mann, climate scientist

It was the first of many steps that made it clear that this administration would be taking a vastly different approach to confronting global warming than its predecessor.

For Republicans, having a friend in the White House means they now have an open door to strike down key regulations that will be a boon to the energy industry.

It's a path they had been building well before Trump took office, with Republicans not only denying that humans are increasing global warming - but accusing scientists of lying to the public.

As a new administration takes power in Washington, Phil Torres explores what the Trump era will mean for the scientific community - and the future of the planet.